Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Terrorism in the name of Jihad

Terrorism has become a global problem. Countries whether poor or rich, developed or underdeveloped have been severely affected by the menace of the terrorist actions. On Tuesday, September 11, 2001, nineteen Young Arabs, fifteen of them from Saudi Arabia, under the leadership of the Egyptian Mohammed Atta, hijacked four U.S. domestic airliners, two of them slammed into the twin towers (the United States of America's most prominent buildings) the World Trade Centre in New York City. Another plane plowed into the Pentagon and fourth airplane crashed in field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. In all of them, 5219 civilian individuals were died some of them victimized. That, shocking news was spread all over the world within a minute. Within hours, the U.S. government identified the hijackers as members of al-Qaeda under Osama Bin Laden, a citizen of Saudi Arabia, living in Afghanistan. This attack led war against terrorism.

In the same year another terrorists suicide attacks occurred at the Parliament house of India on Thursday, December 13, 2001 using a car having a blue light on top and siren as if they were VIPs' with commandos targeting the dignitaries. Terrorists were able to enter in the parliament security zone with the help of forge entry on their windshield. This incident badly affected the Indo-Pak relation.

Similarly, Nepal has been facing terrorist actions in various forms within and outside the country. Among many, one of the bitter example that Nepal witnessed transnational terrorism, is the hijacking of IC 814 Indian Airlines- Airbus 300 flying from Tribhuvan International Airport, Kathmandu to Delhi carrying 178 passengers (154 Indians, eight Nepalese and many foreign tourists as well) on December 24, 1999 by Ibrahim Athar, Latif and others (members of one of the terrorist organizations). This became one of the major security issues between Nepal and India. In the same way, Meerza Dil Sadbeg, a sitting MP (House of Representatives) was also killed in Kathmandu, by the organized criminal groups. Different people use terrorism to describe different things: As a label for acts of violence, it reflects negatively on those who are labeled as terrorist. If one side in a dispute can characterize the enemy in a negative way, and so win public opinion over to their point of view, they will not hesitate to do so”. Hence the saying: “One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter. Terrorism has led to an inhuman atmosphere all round the globe. The most popular kind of terrorism that has emerged is Islamic terrorism. With different terrorist associations coming up, media has propagated new words like ’militant Islam’ (which has been in vogue in the World Press recently) and ’Islamic terrorism’.

I have heard in many news that in name of JIHAD the terrorist associations have been doing many disasters. I also wanted to know what the word Jihad means exactly. For this first of all I talked with many religious leaders, my family members. And finally I read the Holy Book "Quran" for my mother says that it has all the basic things. And I got my answer that no religion supports born terrorism.

The word Jihad stems from the Arabic root word J-H-D, which means "strive." Other words derived from this root include "effort," "labor," and "fatigue." If we talk about Jihad in the context of the holy Quran, Jihad means striving utmost to achieve an objective in a noble manner. The primary objective being to establish a social order based on the Quranic fundamental principles.Jihad is the name of an organized effort and its rules are defined in Islam e.g. nobody is allowed to fight with other person, kill other's woman, children and the old in name of JIhad, likewise it is forbidden to burn crops or houses. All terrorists do such activities and yet they are called Jihadis.

The very word ’Islam’ means peace and mischief is prohibited in Islam. Thus, it is said: "And create not disorder in the earth after it has been set in order…. Do you think mischief and belief in God can go together?
The Quran says: "O you, who believe, stand firmly for God as witnesses to fair dealing and let not the hatred of others make you swerve to wrong and depart from justice"

Fighting is allowed in Islam. But do you know with whom this fighting is meant? It is allowed against the forces of evil which interferes in the establishment of a social order based on truth. The religion never allows transgressing limits. Taking hostages and maltreating envoys and private citizens in any shape and form is totally foreign to the teachings and doctrines of Islam. In other words the philosophy of Islam totally rejects terrorism.

Hazrat Aqdas says: "The people who call themselves Muslims, but are convinced that Islam should be spread by swords, are not aware of the inherent excellence of Islam and their actions are like the actions of beasts". (Taryaq-e-Quloob, Roohani Khazain, vol. 15, p. 167).
Whatever the terrorists have been doing all around the world in name of Jihad can not be neglected by the Muslims themselves. This is a shameful thing for all those terrorists who are fulfilling their misconceptions in name of Jihad.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Controversies on Sita

The story of Sita is told in the Ramayana, one of the most popular stories in the Hindu mythhology. Sita is the one of the most popular goddesses of Hindu religion. She is regarded as the incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi, the divine consort of Lord Vishnu. She is also considered as the ideal daughter, ideal wife, and ideal mother, since ages. Goddess Sita is remembered for her virtues and attributes. She symbolizes all that is noble in womanhood. Her entire life constitutes an example of idealism. Sita is said to be a perfect example of loyalty and morality that is why Sita is one of the principal characters in The Ramayana, the great epic of India.

Sita also known by many epithets like janaki, Maithili, Ramaa, Vaidehi, Siya. Sita was daughter of King of Mithila Janaka in hindu epic. Mithila comprised the present districts Madhubani, Darbhanga, Samastipur, vaishali, Muzzaffarpur, Champaran, Mongyr, Saharsa and Purnea of North Bihar of India and Terai under Nepal lying between the districts of Dhanusha, Mahottari, Sarlahi, Saptari, Rautahat, Sunasari and Morang. Its total area was 25,000 sq.miles. In Nepal, Sita is considered as a brave woman of extraordinary brilliance. She has got all the values that people believe, a woman must have in her character.

The Ramayana, one of the most popular stories in the Hindu tradition, tells of Sita and Rama's exploits. As a young prince Ram performs heroic acts and in due course wins Sita as his wife after succeeding in bending a great war bow. Cheated of his rightful role as successor to his father the king, he goes off into exile. Sita and his brother Lakshmana insist in going with him. One day Sita is kidnapped by the ten-headed demon Ravana and carried off to his stronghold in the island of Lanka. Helped by Hanuman, the god-king of the monkeys, Rama eventually defeats Ravana and his army in battle and rescues Sita. They then return to their kingdom where Rama is given his rightful place as king.

After their reunion, Rama wondered whether Sita had remained faithful while held captive by Ravana. Sita proclaimed her innocence and proved it by passing through a fire unharmed. The fire god Agni also spoke on her behalf, and Rama accepted her innocence.

The couple returned to Ayodhya, and Rama began a long reign of peace and prosperity. But the people still questioned Sita's faithfulness. In time, Rama began to doubt her innocence as well, and he banished her. While in exile, Sita found refuge with an old wise man named Valmiki, and she gave birth to Rama's twin sons, Kusa and Lava.

After many years, the two boys visited Ayodhya. When Rama saw them, he recognized them as his sons and called Sita back from exile. Sita returned and protested her innocence again. She called on Mother Earth to verify that she was telling the truth. In response, the earth opened a crack beneath Sita and swallowed her.

Sita and Rama are said to be the model wife and husband in the Hindu tradition. Traditionally Hinduism has championed Sita as the role- model and epitome of domestic wifely duty towards one's husband. Her elevated status in Hindu mythology, however, has recently been tarnished and criticized by Indian feminists who see sita as an overly- submissive wife who commited suicide for an ultimately untrusting husband. Sita's ideal qualities are presented in the Ramayana to be her unquestioned subordintaion to the demands of her hsuband. Many indian feminists therefore reject Sita as archetype of women rights. In their reassessments of the Ramayana, they have concluded that Sita's behaviour is not worthy of emulation and instead identify Draupadi as better role model based upon her confidence and resolve.

Another controversial element surrounding Sita's mythology can be found in some part of North Bihar is People say that Sita chose her own husband! But it was her parents who put out the word that whoever can pull the bow, Sita's going to marry. So where did Sita choose her husband?! No, she did not really get a choice. But she saw that her husband is capable of doing something great.

But since her marriage wasn't a successful one, parents in that region have stopped letting girls choose their own husbands. They say that marriage wasn't a successful one, or that Sita should have been stopped.Everything that Sita did-- whatever she did---has been stopped for girls of Mithila region in India. Here sita is rejected as a role model

This legendary story, written between the 6th and the 4th century BC, is considered history, not legend, by most Indians. While in terai region of Nepal Sita is considered as an ideal daughter who obeyed her parents choice, lived as a faithful wife and a dutiful mother.

With change of years the impression of people on Sita have been changed a lot. But still we can say, Sita is a woman of virtue and of immeasurable patience. Through her great character, she has captured hearts of millions of people.